President Bush, the Battle of the Budget, and Who Is the Most Qualified Individual in the Nation for President?
by user Hscpub From www.hammer2006.politicalgateway.com 2007-02-06 Accountability We all do live in the world of public opinion. We're accountable to our spouse, our friends, and our boss. And they're accountable to us. That is the checks and balances of life that keeps social relationships and social roles functioning. History From Vietnam to Watergate to double-digit inflation and hostages, to Iran-Contra, to Monica Lewinsky to the Iraq war, we are - if you care to think of it in these terms - having one major Presidential crisis of unprecedented length. Meanwhile, the number of elephants has tripled in the last six months. I don't believe it is going too far to add the popular bumper sticker slogan that at least "no one died when Clinton lied" (although, as an aside, some also dispute this). At least with Bill Clinton we cared enough to move forward on impeachment. Terrorism and the Budget As I write this the debate on what will be our funding priorities for our nation's budget has come center stage, with President Bush being (I'm shocked!) very favorable towards defense and military funding. Bin Laden is reported to stress his belief that his organization's fighting of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan resulted not only in them leaving that country but furthermore, critically, was a crucial factor in weakening them financially contributing to the resulting break-up of the Soviet Union. He has stated that the goal of terrorism is not military victory but victory from within, bleeding a country financially over time in a death by a thousand cuts. Although it would seem to be impossible in this case, he has indicated that he believes the same can be done to the United States. Political Calculations In my view that is just not going to happen. But what I am concerned about is that this Administration could use high military and defense expenditures to have political cover to make desired (of course they would say necessary) entitlement budget cuts that would, under other circumstances, never really have the opportunity to see the light of day. At a minimum, although President Bush has certainly had to show at least cursory acknowledgement of the Democratic rise in the 2006 elections, this Administration (the dismissing of the bi-partisan Iraq Study group recommendations in favor of a troop surge beyond the status quo comes to mind as one example) continues to appear to be rather inflexible and some feel overly partisan in regard to its decisons and actions. Our Next President Certainly all human beings have flaws. But why do we too consistently seem to elect individuals for President that become embroiled in major crises (some more than one) and, in the case of our sitting present, have worked themselves into a position overall of compelling lack of public confidence and support? I believe that too often our political choices reflect those individuals we feel most comfortable with or most indentify with collectively, and hence are most similar to us. As they say, "who would you be most comfortable having a beer with or having over for a barbecue?" We've had a few statemen (statespersons) in this world: Ghandi, Mother Theresa, MLK. And for Presidents I'd add (we could quibble on names): Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, Washington and Kennedy (I'm not a Presidential scholar, but these come to mind). I envision a world (someday) in which we collectively aspire to better than ourselves, and we vote in those preferences accordingly. We live in a dangerous world, and more of the same certainly just will not do. We are a large country, and somewhere within our midsts is an individual of destiny, likely more than one, that could more significantly unify our country. I believe that a more unified country is a precursor to any role that the United States could play in a less dangerous (dare I say more harmonious?) world. Please let me know what you think about this ( hscpub@aol.com). I appreciate it very much. Alex Hammer __NOEDITSECTION__ Category: Opinions Category: Opinions by User Hscpub Category: February 13, 2007 Category: President Bush Opinions Category: Presidential Budget Opinions Category: Presidential Crisis Opinions Category: President 2008 Opinions From The Opinion Wiki, a Wikia wiki. From The Opinion Wiki, a Wikia wiki.